Crossing Gender Lines in the Work Force...

At the Tucson Book Fair, a booth for the local hospital was giving away nurses hats. The girls each wanted a hat. 

Storytellin' Boy was very disappointed that he did not get a hat. He loved the hats so much that he got back in line to get one for himself. He wore it proudly for the rest of the festival. 

Cheers for nurses both men and women!

Levitation, Shakespeare and Four Year Old Magic...

Magic Show at the Tucson Festival of Books

Shakespeare appearing out of a replica of the Globe Theatre

Brown-Eyed Gal picked to levitate before the crowd.

Approaching the stage

Brown-Eyed Gal hugging a penguin at the book festival

Two weeks ago we went to the Tucson Festival of Books hosted by University of Arizona. One of the highlights of the day for the kids was a magician that taught about Shakespeare and did magic tricks.

The magician asked for a volunteer from the audience and my four year old daughter raised her hand and was picked. My daughter is a girl who usually opts to play in her room with her stuffed animals and is not always one for the lime light. I was pleased when she excitedly went up on stage. She was a little scared before the magician made her levitate so my husband went up on stage to help... therefore we didn't get a picture of the actual levitation.

Afterwards, Brown-Eyed Gal said, "Mom I got to fly like a butterfly. Did you see me flying?"

The lesson for me is that children change and grow. The characteristics we use to label them one day may not fit six months down the road. My sister's daughter has a friend who has always been very shy and she recently made one of the leads in her school production of High School Musical. Friends and family asked, "Is this the same girl?" They were amazed when they saw her awesome and spirited performance.

My daughter is also changing and growing and I celebrate her new found boldness and willingness to participate in the fun of life.  

“Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Silly Monkey Stories

Chess Anyone?

Ready to play

Concentration

Contemplation

I want to play too... like my big brother!

This year in 2nd grade, Lil' Expert has improved his chess playing ability tremendously. His coach tells us he has new found confidence and he has developed a swagger. He can beat almost everyone in his club at school.

March 14th and March 28 are the qualifying rounds for the Arizona State Championships. He is working to earn enough points at these tournaments to qualify.  

His brother Storytellin' Boy showed an interest at the March 14th tournament and played chess with Dad in between rounds. 

It is so great as a mom to see my son excel, especially because Lil' Expert has had his struggles with fine motor skills and coordination due to Asperger's. This is a great activity for him to gain confidence and have success.

Way to go!!

 

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Storytellin' Mama Update... Finally!!

It's been a while! 

What has been going on in the lives of the Storytellin' Gang?

Storytellin' Mama had a hysterectomy. More difficult than I imagined. Thank you so much for all the cards and support. Thank you so much Grandma Kasey for helping me with the kids for a month. I couldn't have done it without you.

I have also gone back to work part-time and am working with adult offenders who have cognitive and mental health problems to help restore them to competency within the court system. Very challenging.

I will also be starting a new fiction writing class in April. I have moved up to the next level through The Writers Studio. I'm looking forward to it so much. My goal continues to be to finish a couple of short stories to send out for publication.

Beautiful flowers sent to me after my surgery from my friend Gina

Big Expert has been such an incredible help to us all during my surgery recovery. I really appreciate how he took the boys to the bus stop every morning and pitched in so much in the running of the household. He is doing great with his photography and is excited to buy a new camera very soon!

Daddy resting with his girls

Lil' Red who has now officially switched from a redhead to a blondie is talking up a storm. She turned two years old in December and is displaying characteristics of the terrible terrific twos. She has gotten quite bossy with her brothers and sister, but I figure it is survival of the fittest considering she is the youngest of four and has to fight for her place in the sibling order. The older kids love to try to get her to copy their words and they laugh hysterically when she repeats them. 

Valentine's Day Breakfast

Heart Pancakes

Brown-Eyed Gal had her tonsils out and had a bout of Pneumonia. She has recovered well from both, although these last couple of months have been a rough road for her. She is enjoying pre-school and making up songs and dances that she performs for us daily. I have plans to enroll her in dance classes in the Spring. Her speech is improving and she is also blossoming socially at school.

Snow Day in Tucson

Storytellin' Boy continues to be prolific with stories, art and creations of every kind. He has started writing poems and keeping a journal with entries that keep us all laughing... a future post for sure. He has been doing well in kindergarten and started taking karate classes with his brother. He hopes to try out for his yellow belt soon. He also continues to be thoughtful and plays with his younger sisters in such a fun and caring way.

Lil' Expert has been improving his reading by leaps and bounds this year. He continues to be on the chess team at school and has two big playoff tournaments this month to try and qualify for the state championships. He is also taking karate and enjoying it. He continues to love the computer and is very excited we purchased a Mac mini this week for him and his brother to share.

I have missed blogging and I hope to be more frequent with my posts in the upcoming weeks!